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"How? How am I still not able to beat Jay White?" Kazuchika Okada muttered and sighed out loud. The leader of Chaos entered the year 2019 and thought he had finally understood what went wrong. He thought he had overcome his mental break down which he suffered after getting beat by Kenny Omega.
He couldn't deny, it broke him as he heard the count next to him, but couldn't break up the pinfall. It hurt him deep in his soul to see this glorifyed gajin holding and not defending his title.
He hadn't seen what was waiting behind him, while he struggled with himself. He just hadn't his mind awake enough for Jay and the betrayal of Gedo. He believed in Gedo.
He lost his mind and fell into this hole, but Kazuchika really thought he got over it. He thought he would finally could step up again.
He closed his eyes, sighed out loud and shaking his head.
"Do you really think that Jay is your problem?" Okada turned his head in surprise. He hasn't heard this familiar voice in a very long time. It was hard, but at the same time melodic and calm.
"Wait, what? Shin-san?" He eyed his former mentor, how Nakamura held his head crooked to the side with this special, mischievous smile. "You understand what I mean. You know exactly what I mean! Jay isn't your problem, he is just a symptom. You can wear tights again and bleach your hair blond, but you still aren't the rainmaker at the moment!" Shinsuke got straight to the point. Okada stepped back and looked at him and squint a little, eyeing him. "Who are you to jugde this?" he answered. Okada was still in surprise to have this conversation in the first place.
"I'm the one who handed you this faction. I'm the one who taught you everything." Was the answer.
Kazu snapped at Shinsuke: "You were the one how left me for big money!" he hissed at his friend.
Shinsuke shrugged his shoulders. "I'm here as your advisor, not to fight with you, Kazu-san!" A long sigh followed and the tall Japanese man crossed the arms in front of his chest. "You are not the rainmaker, but who says that you can't become him again?"
Now it was Kazuchikas turn to shrugg his shoulders and Shinsuke went on. "If you don't know the answer, then who should? Is it a problem to you that you aren't the young glorious star anymore? That your long and legendary reign broke?" His smile vanished slowly as he asked this questions and drew nearer.
Okada broke the eye contact and looked down. "But if I am no longer the rainmaker, who am I?" he asked tired and defeat. He yelped as Shinsuke put his hands on his shoulders. "You are Okada Kazuchika. You are the one I choose to reign CHAOS! You were the one at my side. Gedo praised you, but I was the one who accepted you, let you get a second home. I took you under my wing and let you rise!" again this soft smile on his lips.
"You are the great one and nobody will ever accomplish what you did. Yeah, Gedo betrayed you. He were maybe the first one of us all who saw greatness in you! But just because he didn't see it anymore, it doesn't mean that you lost it." Shinsuke put his hand on Okadas chest. A warm feeling washed over him just because if this touch. "It's still there. Deep down there!" Shinsuke insisted, pushing his hand against the skin of Kazuchika. "You don't need this… this greedy gangster rapper anymore!"
Slowly Okada raised his view and also slowly he shook his head. "Am I still great or… just washed up?"
Shinsuke chuckled a little. "That is the same thing you said to Tanahashi as you started your journey to the top. Is he washed up?" asked the king of Strong Style. "Since when did you stop to hate him?" Kazuchika returned the question. Shin chuckled again. "You can hate some and appreciate his talent! So, do you still think Hiroshi is washed up?"
"No!" Okada extended the sound of the word. "I wish I were as tough as he is!" Shinsuke shook Okada's shoulders slightly. "Damn, Kazu, you are as tough as he is. He isn't afraid of the young stars that trying to steal his spot in this company. He just fights them and if he loses, he gets up the next day and starts a new comeback. He doesn't care about every freaking bone in his body that starts to hurt. I hate to say, but he is the true Ace!"
Okada sighed out loud in defeat. He would laugh about Shinsuke's confession, but at the moment he just felt tired.
"What should I do?"
Shinsuke brushed with one hand through Okada's newly blond coloured hair. "Stop thinking of Jay White as your biggest problem!" encouraged Shinsuke him "That's a fight you can't win. He got the numbers on his side at the moment."
Slowly moved Kazu, he shifted his weight from one foot to another. He stared at his feet for a moment before he looked up to lock eyes with Shinsuke again. "But what's my biggest problem?" he asked him. Shinsuke shrugged his shoulder, mischievous smiling, like he knew every secret in the universe. "Maybe you got none! And that's your problem. You desperately want to solve something, so you don't see what's ahead of you!"
The older man drew new Kazu and put his hands around his neck to pull him close, pressing their foreheads against each other. "You have to watch after CHAOS!" begged Shinsuke. "To win the numbers fight some day in the future, you need numbers. That means you need CHAOS! Don't let this fall apart, I'm not there to save it for you!" Kazus hands found the waist of Shinsuke and he desperately hold him tight and close to his own body. It felt like the last life saver.
"You should have never left me! I'm not your worthy successor!" Kazu confessed, but Shin shook his head. He wouldn't allow any doubt. "Yeah, you are. And only you... You wanna know how I know that?"
Kazu nodded almost defeated by his own emotions. "Because Tana trusts you!" Shinsuke whispered and let his hands sink again, so they were now placed on Kazuchikas shoulders. "What do you mean? I don't wanna play him!" The rainmaker answered tiredly. "I'm not ready to build a spider web of intrigues yet!" Shinsuke smiled at him, not mischievous, just caring and full of love. "I haven't meant that!" Kazu sighed. "But I can't really align with him. You hated him, you always fought against him!"
Shinsuke brushed over Kazuchikas shoulders again. "You learnt a lot and you learnt fast, but your loyalty is always your weakness. You don't have to lead CHAOS like I did. You don't have to obtain the same allies like I did. Build your own friendships, you build your own enmities. I will only guide your way. Trust Tana, believe in him. He fell from higher ground than you and built himself up again. Forget what lies in the past and start to focus on tomorrow. Start to focus on your friends again, and prepare a war, but not in the open, don't get involved in a numbers game!"
All the time Shinsuke was speaking he brushed over Kazuchikas shoulders. The younger male sighed and directed his view to the ground. "I'll just miss you so damn much, Shinsuke!"
Shin wrapped his arms around Kazuchika, pulled him close and whispered in his ear. "It doesn't matter how much distance is between us, I'm always with you!"
Kazuchika opened eyes. He was alone again, but he felt better. Someone opened the door, his head flashed up to look at the person who was entering. It was Yoshi-Hashi. "Are you ready, boss?"
Kazuchika took his coat and nodded. Yeah, he was ready. Ready to start over new!